http://www.lowridermagazine.comLowrider Magazine’s features & car archives showcases the best lowriders, custom low riding cars on the scene.Lowrider Magazine FeaturesMon, 30 Mar 2015 11:03:00 -0700http://www.lowridermagazine.com/features/1505_2013_harley_davidson_custom_softail_deluxe/We look forward to any chance we can to venture off to Hawaii.

We look forward to any chance we can to venture off to Hawaii. Lowriding culture there is as strong as the friendly people, great food, and awesome scenery. Sometimes, while at one of the island's spectacular shows, we get to sneak off and shoot photos of one of the participant's rides, or find out about one nearby that we should check out. We couldn't help but want to point our lenses at Reggie Javier's beautiful bagger. It's certainly seems to be the two-wheel version of tropic thunder.

Lowrider enthusiasts are brought into the lowriding culture for various reasons. Some are there for the love of old cars, but many are introduced to the culture by family members. As far as Robert Herrera can remember, his father Ramiro has been into bombs and the lowriding scene his whole life. When he was about 10 years old, Robert recalls his dad taking him to car shows and teaching him about the lifestyle. After all those encounters with cars at those shows, he said, "I always told myself that I would love to have a bomb. I just love those straight pipes and that old-car smell."

]]>http://www.lowridermagazine.com/features/1505_1982_cadillac_brougham_deleganceThu, 12 Mar 2015 11:03:00 -0700http://www.lowridermagazine.com/features/1505_2008_dodge_charger/Going for a more modern touch

I was excited when I found out my next assignment was to interview Bob from the world-famous La Bamba movie. I was very curious to find out how the real-life older brother of the rock 'n' roll legend Ritchie Valen's was doing and see what kind of life he lived. As I pulled up to his residence in Watsonville, CA, I was surprised when I had to take a dirt road to get to his mobile home that looked similar to the one he shared with Rosie in the movie. Once I parked, I saw the 75-year-old Bob standing there with a Mohawk. We began talking and he told me how his home, along with most of his belongings, were lost in a fire and about his recent battle with cancer. I quickly realized that his life story had more struggles than triumphs.

The vest is sacred throughout the biker world and without saying a word it communicates who we are, where we come from and whom we ride with whether in a group or solo. When Gilberto Espinoza started making leather bracelets and belts after a farmer strike in 1971, he had no idea that it would eventually lead him, and later his three sons, down a path to becoming one of the industry's most respected makers of biker vests and leathers. But the story of this family-run business goes far beyond leather hides and sewn-on patches. Their story is of one man making sacrifices for his family, only to have his family do the same in return to take care of him. This is the story of Gilberto Espinosa, a quiet and humble man, as told by his three sons, Joe, Gilbert Jr. and Eric.

]]>http://www.lowridermagazine.com/features/1504_1996_cadillac_fleetwood_broughamWed, 18 Feb 2015 13:02:00 -0800http://www.lowridermagazine.com/features/1504_1962_1963_chevrolet_impalas/A tale of two brothers... and their Impalas.

Vale and David Garcia were raised on the tough streets of Madera, California. Their father worked long hours in the field to try and make ends meet to support his seven children. His pay would barely get them through, so he decided to start working on cars in his free time. His weeknights and weekends were spent on customer cars. "My brothers and I started helping my dad in the garage," says Vale. Noticing his sons' interest in old cars and knowing the troubles that lurked in their neighborhood, their father decided to get himself a project car that he could build with his sons. "My father always had an old Impala or Chevy and the cars served as an outlet for us," explained David.

Martin Resendez has established a solid reputation as one of the most dynamic leaders in the Hispanic biker community. For the past nine years Martin has been spearheading some of the most successful Harley bike runs in Southern California.

Martin Maldonado of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was looking to add another 1930s or 1940s convertible to his collection of classic cars. He called another car collector that he's known for years from the East Coast to see if he had any leads. When Martin described what he was looking for, the gentlemen knew of one that he had found a few years back.

Age 15 typically means video games and hanging out with your buddies. But for Frankie Hernandez Jr. who was raised in a lowrider family, things were always just a little bit different. With mom and dad each owning their own lowrider, it was just a matter of time before Frankie would carry on the family tradition. As luck would have it, while taking out the trash at a their local storage center he would come across a 1969 Schwinn frame and axle that someone had inexplicably thrown away. Frankie immediately knew this would become his very own masterpiece and finally take his place among the long list on family builds.

Retirement is something many of us look forward to, while others think they'd go nuts with too much time on their hands. After 30 years in the scene, Way of Life Car Club member Derrick "Double D" Collins has been in the game a long time. His son, fellow club member, and '61 Impala convertible owner, Joseph, stands to continue to the legacy. But now that Derrick's essentially retired from the club, some might think that'd mean he's going to take up golf, sell his rides, and do things at a slower pace. Not a chance.

Some believe in love at first sight, and Jose Lemus of Las Vegas is one of those believers. Jose can remember back to when he was in the fourth grade and saw his first lowrider. From that day forward, he knew that he wanted one for himself one day. He started with building model cars and then moved on to building lowrider bikes. He remembers as a child, every time he would get a little extra money that he would run to the store to buy the newest LOWRIDER Magazine that was on the stands.